Many containers are provided with tamper-resistant devices to resist refilling of contents in the containers. For example, a container for carrying a liquid product can include a fitment that renders the container non-refillable, so as to impede efforts to refill the container with inferior products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,811 illustrates a container of this type.
A general object of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, is to provide a product and/or package including a container and a use-evident indicator for indicating that the product and/or package has been used, for example, by opening of the package and/or by dispensing or other removal of original flowable product from the container.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A product in accordance with one aspect of the disclosure includes a bottle, and a use indicator carried on at least one inside surface of the bottle so that, upon removal of a closure from the bottle or upon removal of flowable product from within the bottle, a coloration of the product changes irreversibly to indicate to a user that the product has been used.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of producing a product that includes the steps of (a) positioning an indicator inside of a container, wherein the indicator has a coloration state changeable to another coloration state in response to use of the product, (b) flowing a flowable product into the container to at least partially cover the indicator, and (c) assembling a closure to the container.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method of discouraging reuse of a container after opening of the container, which includes the step of applying a permanent discoloration to the container, which is observable by a potential user to indicate that the container has already been used, wherein said step of applying a permanent discoloration to the container is carried out by a process selected from the group consisting of: (1) placing air-reactive materials on an interior surface of the container such that, when the container is opened and/or contents of the container are removed, the air-reactive materials are exposed to air, thereby causing a detectable spectral shift; and (2) coating the interior surface of the container with microcapsules embedded in a forward osmosis membrane, such that the microcapsules rupture and permanently discolor at least one of the membrane material or the container when the contents are removed from the container.